BILL NUMBER:  S5387

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to
extortion or coercion related to immigration status

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

Extortion and coercion involve compelling a person to turn over
property or to engage or refrain from engaging in other conduct by
intimidation, including threatening to cause criminal charges to be
instituted against him or her. This bill amends the Penal Law
definitions of "extortion" and "coercion" to also include making
threats for such purposes to cause deportation proceedings to be
brought against an individual.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Bill § 1 amends subdivision 4 of § 135.60 of the Penal Law to provide
that the offense of larceny by extortion includes compelling a person
to turn over property by instilling a fear that, if the property is
not delivered, the actor or another will accuse some person of a crime
or cause criminal charges "or deportation proceedings" to be
instituted against him or her.

Bill § 2 amends subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of
§ 155.05 of the Penal Law to provide that the offense of coercion in
              

the second degree includes compelling a person to engage or abstain
from engaging in conduct by instilling a fear that, if the demand is
not complied with, the actor or another person will accuse some person
of a crime or cause criminal charges "or deportation proceedings" to
be instituted against him or her.

 EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER :

Under the Penal Law, a threat to report a person's immigration status
could currently be treated as a crime in cases of labor trafficking (§
135.35) and sex trafficking (§ 230.34). However, such threats are not
currently treated as potential extortion or coercion offenses.

 JUSTIFICATION :

This bill would apply the same standard to threats to cause
deportation proceedings instituted against an individual for purposes
of extortion or coercion as currently apply to threats to cause
criminal charges to be instituted for such purposes. Deportation
proceedings are not criminal trials, but their nature and consequences
are similar enough to justify their including within these offenses.
New Federal policies that focus on deporting immigrants for any
possible reason make many immigrant New Yorkers more vulnerable to
extortion or coercion.

This bill would place efforts to blackmail an individual by
threatening to cause deportation proceedings to be instituted on an
equal footing with similar efforts involving criminal charges. The
bill is based on model legislation recommended by the Public
Leadership Institute. Similar measures have been enacted in
California, Colorado, Maryland and Virginia.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Thirtieth day after becoming law.